Trending Today
Get the Tips: Marketing
for 7-Figure Growth
for 7-Figure Growth
Get solid marketing strategies, designed for entrepreneurs on the track to 7-figures and beyond, right in your inbox.
You may be saying to yourself “I’ve already created my client avatar” … and I’m here to tell you that you probably did it the old way and you’re missing the mark. Instead of helping, it’s actually holding you back from achieving long-term results that you otherwise could. There’s a better way to craft your customer persona that will actually attract your ideal client way easier than what you’ve been doing.
A fairly common problem that I hear from the entrepreneur community is being able to drive enough traffic to your website … but why no sales? It’s so frustrating it just makes you want to create a computer fly! (Never seen a computer fly? Take your computer and throw it out the window, then you’ll see it fly. <insert bad dad joke>) In this case, if you can get the traffic and not the sales, the problem is almost always your website. The other big culprit is that you’re attracting the completely wrong audience (which can boil down to still making changes on your website so that the fraction of traffic you’re driving that IS the right audience is better able to convert.) Life will be much easier, and your marketing much more efficient, if you attract the right client. Your client avatar is a key component of your business, and it’s important to make sure that you’re creating the right one for your brand.
One of the biggest mistakes most businesses make is using old methodology to create your avatar – which I will discuss below – and you definitely do NOT want to miss the importance of using new methodologies to create a really kick-ass avatar that helps you hone your messaging. That’s down below as well. Better messaging = better clients = better bottom line, right?
First, what do all these terms mean?
We’re going to be using a few terms interchangeably here. Marketers tend to differentiate “buyer persona” for example, although for the purposes we are discussing there’s not much difference. If nothing else, we marketers sure do like our acronyms and elusive terminology that is sometimes designed to be known only by the inner circle. We’re not doing that … our entire blog is built around entrepreneurs not being excluded from the knowledge that you need. Why should only the really big guys with really deep pockets be the ones that are able to understand marketing?
So we’re not going to get hung up on whatever you want to call it.
Assume that all of these terms:
… today all of it means the exact same thing for our purposes; and you’ll understand WHY it should all mean the same thing as we go – it doesn’t matter what you call it when you’re getting it wrong!
Sometimes, your “ideal client” may look a bit different than your current customer. This happens frequently enough for growing businesses that marketers have separated some of the terminology, with the “buyer persona” reflecting the people you’re currently serving, and your “ideal customer” being the person you WANT to serve but aren’t yet reaching well.
In the case of a business that has evolved over time (which can actually happen quickly sometimes, as you know), your “ideal customer” may not look exactly the same as your current “buyer persona.” Sometimes you’re attracting the completely wrong crowd – for example if you want and think you have a luxury brand (ideal customer) but are only attracting the discount shoppers and tire kickers (buyer persona).
It’s important for you to differentiate between the two if necessary, but only to understand that who you have now isn’t who you ultimately want … and make sure that you focus on your ideal customer as you work through the journey of creating your client avatar. Otherwise, you run the risk of your marketing messaging and communication being off-target.
Some marketers also refer to the “avatar” as being a visual representation of the ideal customer, such as a photo or drawing/animation of that target client. An image is worth 1,000 words, so those can help you quickly have a feel of your audience. But that should only be one portion of how you envision this perfect client. All of the pieces are, and should be, holistic – intimately interconnected.
So assume for this entire article that we want you to focus on your ideal customer, which may not be who you have right now, and work to create an avatar or persona that details that ideal person. And when we say any of the terms, we’re speaking about the same thing – the full profile that you work up on who that person is or should be.
But first, let’s dive into the importance of getting it right.
Your client avatar is a representation of your ideal customer. It’s important to take the time to create an avatar that accurately represents the type of customer you want to attract. This will help you create marketing campaigns and sales strategies that are more effective and efficient.
The first step is to research your target market. Who are they? Gender? Age? Location? What is their lifestyle? What do they like? What do they dislike? Once you have this information, you can start developing your avatar’s personality and interests.
Your brand’s mission/vision should be reflected in your avatar as well. Are you trying to sell luxury items? Then your avatar should reflect that.
What does your ideal customer look like? Do you want them to be professional and serious, or playful and carefree? What do you want them to think about how your brand looks?
Once you have an idea of what type of image you want to project, you’ll have a better understanding of how to develop your ideal client persona.
One of the best things about having a unique client avatar outlined is that it will set you apart from other businesses. It’s important to be true to yourself and your brand, but don’t be afraid to take some risks.
Finally, make sure your client avatar reflects your brand’s values/message. Are you trying to convey professionalism? Are you trying to show fun and carefree vibes? Do you want to project a brand that cares about the environment, or supports women’s rights? Knowing yourself first will help you know who you’re trying to attract.
There are some very basic mistakes that a entrepreneurs makes in developing their client persona.
One of the most common mistakes businesses make is not having a well-defined client persona. Or even that isn’t well defined lol – none at all! Your client avatar is a crucial part of your brand identity and marketing strategy, so it’s important to take the time to create a detailed and accurate representation of your ideal customer.
Without a clear understanding of who you’re targeting, it will be difficult to create effective marketing materials or craft a sales pitch that resonates with your audience. To avoid this mistake, take the time to do some research and develop a comprehensive understanding of your ideal customer.
One of the most common mistakes businesses make when creating their client avatar is choosing the wrong one. This can happen for a number of reasons, including not taking the time to do enough research or not having a clear understanding of your ideal customer.
When choosing your avatar, it’s important to be as specific as possible. This means including factors like demographics, interests, and pain points. But we’re going to talk below about how most entrepreneurs stop here, and you need to delve much deeper!
Without this level of detail, you run the risk of creating an avatar that doesn’t accurately represent your target audience. To avoid this mistake, take the time to do your research and develop a thorough understanding of who you’re trying to reach.
Another common mistakes businesses make when creating their client avatar is not being authentic enough. Again, it boils down to doing the research. I’ll give you some tips below.
Can you see your ideal customer in your mind? What they’re doing right now at this exact moment in time? And how that might relate to you and your business?
Without this level of detail, you run the risk of creating an avatar that doesn’t accurately represent your target audience.
Even more importantly, if you can’t see your ideal customer in your mind, you can’t articulate it. And if you can’t articulate it, you can’t relay the right information to your team that assist you, and you probably can’t create marketing messaging and materials that hits the right target.
If you’re not seeing the results you want from your marketing campaigns, it could be because you’re using an incorrect client avatar. Here are five signs that you may be making this mistake:
1. You’re not seeing the results you want from your marketing campaigns.
2. You don’t have a clear understanding of who your ideal customer is.
3. You’re not being as specific as possible when creating your avatar or your messaging.
4. You’re not taking the time to do enough research.
5. Your avatar doesn’t accurately represent your target audience.
Over the years / the decades / the centuries, how we’ve looked at our “ideal client” person and defined our target audience has changed. We’ve leveled up in the world of defining an ideal audience.
(I’ve always wanted to say that!) When doing marketing from time immortal through probably the 90s, we created fairly basic client personas.
Remember though, basic is usually better than nothing, so if this is the only way you’ve created yours so far – congratulations, you’ve taken the first step! But we also want to take you further and help make your marketing better.
This level of persona development focuses on basic demographics. You do need this information as a basis for the higher levels that you will want to develop.
Once digital marketing became more prevalent, we were able to begin gathering more data points about our customers; from around 2000, and increasing throughout the past two decades as more marketers realized they could gather more granular detail about their audience.
I admit, I’m a bit of a data geek, and combine that with an interest into the psychology behind what makes a person make the choices that they make, this level has always held an interest for me.
An increase in access to data let us add more detailed information about our person. Things like:
This level is where most client avatars live today. If you recognize some of the things from the list above, this is probably the level of your client avatar as well. These things are important in helping you understand your target audience, but stopping here could mean you are leaving money on the table.
There has been so much emphasis on storytelling in marketing lately – because it works. From the oldest times imaginable, we’ve told stories. Think about some of the oldest stories around – those parables that you find in the Bible are some of the earliest recorded stories. We have been using stories since the beginning of our recorded word at least.
We all love stories.
And using some of the principles of storytelling when developing our client avatars will help us create a more in-depth understanding that will assist us in developing the best targeted communications possible.
The use of storytelling post-Covid is even more important; direct, succinct communication that let the reader know that you understand them is the way to go. The pandemic has had a lasting impact on the way brands tell their stories, with many companies adopting new methods of storytelling in 2020 and 2021. This shift could be permanent, as brands learn to adapt to the changed landscape.
Take every piece of your existing client avatar (beyond the basics of things like age that you have zero influence over changing with your business) and ask WHY four times plus WHAT once. You’ve likely heard this tip of asking why before (ask why five times), but maybe you haven’t seen it in practice so I’ll outline it below; and what I’ve found is that often the “why” question needs a couple more words put with it to help get us there.
From the level 2 avatar that we had already developed, we see that our client has a pain point of not enough money.
But if you simply ask “Why” – even if you “ask why five times” like we are told to do – it can lead you astray, like this:
Client doesn’t have enough money
They have too many expenses
They have a big home and kids
Why?
Why?
Why?
Because they have too many expenses.
Because they have a big home and kids
Because … I’m not sure, they like big homes and dislike birth control?
Oops. Lol. That wasn’t going where I wanted it to at all!
Before moving on, let’s pop a small disclaimer in here. I am using “she” below to make a specific point. The inclusive way to address pronouns now is “they” if you don’t know what pronoun the person uses. However, when you are building your client avatar, you need to know what pronoun they use. If that’s the use of “they”, then that needs to be how you speak about them. If it’s “she” then that needs to be what you use. This is not the time to be generic and all-encompassing – we’re doing the exact opposite of that.
Your client avatar needs to be detailed enough to use the correct pronouns that your client would use – and not generic or what society as a whole would choose, because your avatar is built to be one person and not society. So to show you how detailed the avatar needs to be, we are speaking about a woman who calls herself she.
Meet Melissa.
You know your basic avatar is a female aged 44. When developing your avatar, you remember that Vicky Wu said you need to give it a name, and you looked up and saw that Melissa was the second most common name when your avatar was born in 1978. So your avatar now has a name, and that name is Melissa.
Hi, Melissa.
It’s important to personalize your avatar, including giving them a name. You need to be thinking about this one person when you’re drafting your marketing messages. So Melissa’s pain points are money and time. She looks maybe a bit tired. Perhaps contemplating life. Or maybe RBF.
You know Melissa’s main objection will be that she can’t afford your product or service.
Why does she think that?
She thinks she doesn’t have enough money.
Why does it matter?
Because she needs to be sure they can support their business without detracting from her kids.
Why does that matter?
Because her business is her ability to support their family financially while also being able to be there for her kids.
Why does that matter?
Because at her last job, she worked so many hours that she missed out on school plays and soccer games, and realized while she was putting money in someone else’s pocket she was missing out on life.
And now … what’s behind that feeling?
She’s afraid if she spends the money on (insert your product or service here), she won’t have enough profit for her business to succeed, OR she will have to work so many extra hours to make up for that expense that she will miss out on her kids’ soccer game.
Aaaah … okay now we’re getting somewhere.
Now you understand not only does the client think they don’t have enough money, but you’ve delved into the deeper understanding about what makes them tick.
Because you have a better understanding of what makes them tick, you can craft a MUCH better client avatar. And when you really know what’s going on in the mind of your client avatar, you can craft much more effective messaging.
Let’s take a quick journey into the mind of our ideal client Melissa from Level 1 & Level 2 above as she’s in the car on her morning run to Starbuck’s. And we know from a deeper dive into determining her pain points that she feels like she doesn’t have enough money or enough time.
But why? What’s behind the feeling?
Melissa dropped the kids off at school and one of her indulgences is swinging by the Starbuck’s on the way home and grabbing her favorite drink. Ordering her Venti half-caff Mocha Frappuccino with a shot of caramel and no whip, she already feels overwhelmed at the demands in store for her for the day. As she tears open the straw wrapper, she thinks how it’s not just work either, but also home and family. And as she takes a look at the drink in the cup – it’s not even about the caffeine being able to perk her up. If it was about a caffeine pick-me-up, she’d get a couple shots of espresso.
Waiting in the drive-thru line gives her time to think, and she always feels like she’s not focusing enough on her business, but at the same time not focusing enough on her family. And one of the main reasons she started her own business in the first place was to be able to focus on her family. So this has her feeling like a failure in work and in life. Definitely not what she signed up for!
She’s frustrated because she feels SO close to making 6-figures a year, but is working 60 hours a week and still doesn’t feel like she will ever get there. It’s like it’s perpetually elusive, yet she’s not interested – at all – in working even harder. She feels a bit guilty even taking time out of her day to get this silly coffee! Yet she also knows in her gut that every piece of self-care is important.
She is starting to feel trapped and therefore becoming resentful of her clients that seem to be expecting too much of her, her family that always needs something (and then pile on guilt because she WANTS to be there for them, but instead just feels some resentment!), and frustrated by and jealous of her entrepreneur friends who seem to be more successful than she will ever be.
She started her own business because she wanted freedom and to feel a bigger purpose in life but now just feels like she’s in a prison of her own making with no way out. Her resentment tends to grow as she knows that she is only doing this to herself! she can’t get away because the family is financially dependent upon her, and she is financially dependent upon her current clients, but every day she is thinking how much easier it would be to just go back and get a regular job.
Melissa is now more than just a piece of data that you’ve pulled together with some demographics. She’s a living breathing person that you could imaging yourself having a one-on-one conversation with. When building a client avatar that digs deeper into the thinking and feelings of our prospects, we develop a deeper understanding of them, which means that we can craft much more effective and compelling marketing messaging.
Just look at all that juicy info we have about Melissa!
Super simple social media post #1 – we share a post about morning coffee. Melissa sees it, and thinks “you understand me”. We knew that would resonate with her more than a post about the alarm clock we were considering, because now we know a bit more about her.
Later, when we send a mass email about our product, we know how to write it in tune with what Melissa is feeling. When she reads how this product actually helped someone release resentment they were feeling, Melissa thinks “Wow, these people really understand me.” Yet that other email in her inbox from your competitor only spoke about “you think you don’t have enough time and money” pain points … which ends up not being quite so memorable to Melissa because they just didn’t understand her in the same way.
Melissa starts to feel like she’d rather do business with you than just about anyone else, because you get her down deep.
THIS is what up-leveling your client avatar gets you.
We talk regularly about how branding is much more than just your logo and colors, and one of the pieces that a lot of entrepreneurs miss is the communication side of their branding. Even when considering that, often it isn’t delved into as much as it should or could be.
That’s why, for every one of our bespoke branding packages, we spend a lot of focus on helping you craft your first client avatar – because you can’t craft your messaging quite as successfully if you don’t first understand who you’re speaking to.
Schedule a free consultation to learn about a bespoke brand package (one that includes a custom client avatar so that you can get your messaging right) now.
Vicky is the CEO and Chief Creative Strategist of Vicky Wu Marketing. She draws from 30 years of experience at the CMO level, the CEO level, marketing for Fortune 500 companies and multi-million and multi-billion-dollar organizations, PLUS strategies learned helping startups and nonprofits with limited budgets … now focusing on providing SMBs with effective and efficient marketing strategies – giving them access to the same level of expertise as the really big guys with deep pockets, that they may not otherwise be able to access.
As Seen In
Get solid marketing strategies, designed for entrepreneurs on the track to 7-figures and beyond, right in your inbox.
